Author: Editor Ed News

Gender and Sexual Diversity Ed Camp 2017

On March 4, 2017, the Faculty of Education’s UR STARS, along with UR Pride Centre and Camp fYrefly, hosted the first Gender and Sexual Diversity Ed Camp (#GSDcamp on Twitter) at the University of Regina. The PD event (using the edcamp model of PD by teachers for teachers) started off with keynote Jack Saddleback. “Jack is a Cree two-spirit transgender gay man from the Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis, Alberta.” (Source link)

In his presentation, “There are no Closets in Tipis,” Jack spoke about the importance of family and community support of diversity for the wellness of diverse individuals. As a genderqueer child, Jack, who was born female, increasingly felt the pressure to fit into the feminine spectrum, but felt at odds with this social expectation. At puberty, when Jack finally decided to embrace the feminine, he began to suffer from severe depression and isolation and eventually tried to take his own life. But something inside him called out “No,” so he went looking for help.

When Jack finally decided to tell his grandparents that he was a man, he felt terrified. He feared they would no longer love him. But he needed them to know who he was. Their response was “We don’t know anyone else like you in our family. But we want to help you in any way we can.” They suggested Jack meet with a medicine man who was coming to their community. Jack agreed to this. The medicine man diagnosed him as having two spirits. Jack said, “I’m not just gay, Cree or  trans. It’s the inseparability of all those things that I was experiencing.” After the medicine man tried to exercise him, Jack felt hurt. He knew he needed to tell his story so that this type of thing wouldn’t happen again. (See documentary sexspiritstrength.ca)

Jack said, “If it wasn’t for my family and community support, I wouldn’t be here. Ask yourselves how can I be a good ancestor to those little ones.”

Jack’s keynote was followed by two sessions (with six concurrent presentations in each) from Camp fYrefly, UR Pride, TransUmbrella, PFLAG Canada, GSA, and a Two-Spirit Panel discussion.

Photos below: (Slide cursor over the photo to see the arrow, click on the arrow to go to the next photo)

#GSDCamp 2017

 

Alanis King Speaks to Education Reading Students

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Alanis King, an Odawa playwright, director and educator originally from the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, was a special speaker for Dr. Anna-Leah King’s Reading Education class. Alanis (sister to Anna-Leah) is the first Aboriginal woman to graduate from the National Theatre School of Canada, and she has been Artistic Director of Askiy Productions, the Debajehmujig Theatre Group, Native Earth Performing Arts in Toronto and Saskatchewan Native Theatre where she taught risk-prone inner city youth life skills through drama. She has produced, toured, directed and developed a wide range of plays in many First Nation communities across the continent.

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(l-r) Alanis King and Dr. Anna-Leah King

This evening, Wednesday, February 15,  in the Classroom Building (CL 112) at 8:00 p.m., Alanis will be reading in the Playwright’s Reading Series, hosted by the Media, Arts and Performance (MAP) Faculty, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild with the assistance of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.

New Appointment for Inclusive Education

mathesonian1 The Faculty of Education is pleased to announce that on July 1st, we will be welcoming Ian Matheson to our Faculty.

Ian is currently completing his PhD from the Faculty of Education, Department of Cognitive Studies at Queen’s University, with an anticipated defence in late spring 2017. During his doctoral studies, Mr. Matheson has been the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including a SSHRC Doctoral Award, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and a Frank W. MacLean Fellowship. His Masters and Bachelors of Education were also obtained from Queen’s University, with a Bachelor of Science, Honours Psychology, from the University of Trent. Mr. Matheson has worked for school divisions in Ontario and has also taught undergraduate education classes at Queen’s.

Ian’s research in inclusive education explores the cognitive and neuropsychological underpinnings for a wide range of exceptional populations. His doctoral dissertation describes the common maladaptive beliefs that students with high incidence and hidden exceptionalities hold, and how educators can promote more adaptive alternative beliefs to support their students. In addition to his doctoral research, Mr. Matheson has been involved in a qualitative research analysis of a social skills intervention for individuals with Autism Spectrum disorder. The study examined and analyzed the behaviour of participants in relation to experiences of intervention. He also worked on a SSHRC project to understand cognitive underpinnings of children’s mathematical reasoning and arithmetic proficiency. These research projects align with the Faculty of Education’s commitment to inclusive education and will undoubtedly provide important learning for all students in the teacher education program as they seek to meet the needs of exceptional learners in classrooms. Ian will be a very welcome addition to the EPSY area, the Faculty and the University.